Deafening Silence A-Z
by Eevee22
Summary: A series of drabbles about the various characters and their reactions/meetings with Roko over the course of my fic. This was suggested by a lot of my readers and I hope you like it. Fan art by DragonStorm12. Read 'Deafening Silence' first!
1. A is for Akutsu

**This is a sort of short fic of drabbles to go with Deafening Silence, that fills some plot points. Enjoy.**

Akutsu walked alone and silently down the long winding pathways of the Tokyo Tennis Gardens after Yamabuki's defeat from Seigaku in the District Tournament Finals. Akutsu had lost to that brat, Echizen Ryoma after he used his own technique against him and literally hit him square in the face with a tennis ball, leaving a red mark on his face, so right now he wasn't in the mood for any sort of conversation.

He'd simply abandoned the team. After his defeat Akutsu had simply lost interest in tennis. He'd never lost before, and losing for that first time made him reconsider what he enjoyed about tennis. He enjoyed winning, he enjoyed the glory that came with it, but he had lost, and now he knew there was no chance Yamabuki would go any further. So he simply quit.

Dan was persistent about the whole thing, just like he expected.

"_Akutsu-senpai!"_

_Akutsu stopped, turning to the voice expectantly to see Dan, the little idiot, sprinting towards him, stopping right in front of him and leaning on his legs, breathing heavily and sweat dripping on his face. Akutsu frowned. How far did that idiot run?_

"_You're quitting the tennis club?" he asked unbelieving, and Akutsu didn't respond, just staring._

"_Why?" Dan asked, looking up at him, and Akutsu was dimly surprised to see tears in Dan's eyes, "You're strong, big-bodied, tall, things I could never be!" he exclaimed. Akutsu stopped, frozen for a moment._

"_Why are you quitting?" he demanded, straightening to his full height and putting on a determined face, "Please don't quit, Akutsu-senpai!" he exclaimed with utter determination. Akutsu just watched. Dan stared at him determinedly, and suddenly the tears were back in his eyes and his shoulders shook. Dan looked at the ground in a futile attempt to hide his tears. _

_A moment passed, filled with Dan's tears._

"_Taichi" Akutsu said after a while, and Dan continued to look at the ground._

"_You can't achieve anything when you compare me with that body of yours" he stated flatly. Dan looked up to him, the tears leaving his eyes again, and Akutsu simply stared into his eyes for a moment, and then pointed to the distance, and Dan stopped and turned to where Akutsu was pointing._

_Echizen Ryoma in his Seigaku jersey was walking down the road towards Akutsu and Dan, his flat expression portraying nothing, his silhouette outlined by the sunset. _

"_That is the potential you should aim for" Akutsu stated, "It's waiting for you"_

_Dan didn't respond, but simply watched Echizen Ryoma in awe, and Akutsu knew he had said what was needed._

"_Later" he said, and walked away without another word. A brief moment passed before Dan spoke up._

"_Akutsu-senpai!" he called, and then paused for a moment. Akutsu did not stop walking away._

"_I want to stand on that court as a player!" he called, "No, I _will!"

_Akutsu stopped, hesitating for a single moment, before mentally nodding to himself and walking away, leaving Dan alone._

Akutsu knew he had said the right things, and that Dan would do his best and reach his potential. He knew he would, because Dan was more persistent than anyone he knew.

A metallic clunk interrupted him from his thoughts, and Akutsu looked up to see a first year picking a bottle of iced tea out of the vending machine with earphones in his ears. He had short black hair styled across his left eye, his right eye the colour of molten caramel, and his expression completely blank. He noticed Akutsu and turned to acknowledge him, and Akutsu frowned.

"You look like the brat" he stated, "Who are you?". The brat in front of him looked at him for half a moment before he reached into his pocket, causing Akutsu to frown in confusion, and he withdrew a pen and paper.

"What are you doing?" Akutsu intruded, and the kid ignored him, writing on the piece of paper and holding it up for Akutsu to read it.

_Echizen Roko_, the paper said, and Akutsu blinked.

"The brat has a brother?" he asked no one in particular, and the second brat nodded, and Akutsu scowled at his refusal to talk.

"Why are you writing on that paper?" Akutsu asked in annoyance, and the second brat simply wrote on the paper some more, and Akutsu ground his teeth in annoyance. Who did this kid think he was, ignoring him like that? After a while the brat held up the paper.

_I can't speak. I suffered brain damage when I was five,_ the paper read, and Akutsu frowned. So he was mute then? Akutsu decided in a moment that he didn't really care, and simply looked at him flatly.

The brat then wrote some more on his piece of paper, and Akutsu frowned at him.

_Why did you abandon your friend?_ The paper read, and Akutsu's eyes widened.

"You were watching?" Akutsu asked sharply, and the brat simply nodded in response. In an instant Akutsu moved, grabbing the brat by his shirt and lifting him up in the air so he was at eye-level, glaring at him like a predator, but the brat only stared back with a blank expression, only making Akutsu angrier.

"That is none of your business" he snarled, but the brat didn't even blink. Akutsu continued to stare him down, and eventually, since the kid clearly wasn't fazed by him, he put the brat down, scowling at him in annoyance. The brat then wrote some more on his paper, holding it up to Akutsu.

_He seems to really care about you_, the paper read, and Akutsu frowned.

"Taichi?" he asked, "No, he just has no survival instincts at all. He trusts whoever he meets". The brat didn't look convinced at all, raising his eyebrow in disbelief, and wrote some more on his paper.

_He was sad that you left. Why did you leave?_ The paper read, and Akutsu scowled.

"I don't need to answer to you" he spat, and stormed forward in an attempt to walk away, but the brat simply blocked his way. Akutsu scowled deeper at him.

"Move" he ordered, but the brat before him didn't even flinch, looking at him passively, and eventually Akutsu sighed.

"We lost" he said finally, "There's someone stronger than us, so there's no point continuing, we'll only just lose in the end". The brat just looked at him for half a moment before he wrote some more on his piece of paper, much to Akutsu's annoyance.

_Isn't the point of losing to learn from your experience and become stronger?_ The paper read, and Akutsu scoffed.

"What are you talking about?" he asked incredulously, "A sport is only about winning. If you lose, then you've failed, and you'll never be number one" he stated, and the brat just looked at him passively, tilting his head at an angle curiously. He then wrote more on the paper, and for some reason Akutsu was still standing there waiting his response.

_Dan didn't seem to care that you lost_, the paper read, and Akutsu scowled.

"That idiot would follow me to the ends of the Earth" he muttered, and the brat wrote more on his paper. Seriously, why was he still here? Why hadn't he just walked away yet?

_He has faith in you. He trusts you like a true senpai_, the paper read, and Akutsu just rolled his eyes.

"He's an idiot. I'll just end up hurting him anyway" Akutsu stated, and the brat looked at him for a moment and then wrote on his paper.

_Didn't you just do that?_ The paper read, and Akutsu's patience finally went through the roof.

"I don't need this" he stated finally, stepping forward and shoving the brat out of the way, continuing down the road like nothing had happened. There was a pause as he walked, and suddenly he heard a whoosh of air behind him, and Akutsu turned quickly, catching the object the brat threw at him and examined it. It was the iced tea bottle the brat had just bought, and he looked up at the brat curiously. The brat simply nodded in acknowledgement and then walked away without so much as a glance. Akutsu scowled, pocketing the bottle and walking in the other direction.


	2. B is for Bunta

Bunta yawned to himself, stretching as he lazily walked through the Rikkaidai corridors towards the cafeteria, hoping to get a bite to eat before he had to go back for his match in the Ranking Tournament. His match wouldn't be for an hour or so, so he had plenty of time and Bunta smiled widely at the thought of getting some cake. He'd lost his match against Jackal, but as long as he won the next two he would still keep his place in the team, since the rules allowed a maximum of nine players on a team, so no one would be dropped from the team if another regular stepped up.

He opened the double doors of the cafeteria, his mouth forming a little 'o' in surprise when he noticed there was someone else in the cafeteria. It was a freshman wearing the tennis club uniform, digging into a slice of cake on a plate, and Bunta's eyes widened. It was Echizen, the mute kid that Sanada slapped on the first day. Bunta smiled ever so softly as Echizen didn't even notice he was there, too interested in his cake. He hadn't seen Echizen for a while now, and he'd wanted to talk to him since that time he and Niou dragged him to their favourite hangout spot.

In fact Bunta was kind of intrigued by Echizen. It was interesting that he was mute, in the sense that that made him so unique, and Bunta always found an interest in new things. He kind of wished he knew sign language so he could talk to Echizen, but when he asked Sanada about it all he got from him was: '_It takes years of practice, and I doubt you would put in the effort'_, followed by a frown as he walked away. This only made Bunta want to learn sign language more, but he knew that he didn't really have the time, and so he had to give it up, as much as he didn't want to.

Bunta took a step forward, and Echizen looked up from his cake curiously, and when he spotted Bunta he simply looked at him for half a moment and then went back to his cake like nothing had happened. Bunta chuckled, this freshman was interesting.

He stepped into the cafeteria and pulled up the seat opposite Echizen on the table, and Echizen didn't even acknowledge him, taking another bite of his cake.

"You must really like cake, Echizen" Bunta chirped amusedly, seeing Echizen's slight smile on his lips. Bunta rested his elbow on the table and his head on his hand as Echizen continued to eat the cake. Echizen was kind of cute, in an adorable way, when he was eating that cake. He looked like he was much younger than he was.

"So how's the Ranking Tournament going, Echizen?" Bunta asked when Echizen finished his cake, and Echizen looked up at him and dug into his pocket, pulling out a pen and paper. Bunta frowned at him for a moment, wondering what he was doing, until he put the pen to the paper and started writing.

_Oh, he's talking using the paper_, Bunta realised, and Echizen held up what he wrote.

_I beat Yagyuu, so I'm a regular now. I was supposed to have my match with Kirihara two minutes ago, but I decided cake was more important_, the paper read, and Bunta chuckled at him. He honestly wasn't surprised that Echizen won, since he somehow had faith in him, as did the rest of the team. But abandoning Kirihara for cake? That was just priceless.

"I would've done the same" he said with a wide smile, "Welcome to the team, by the way" he added, and Echizen nodded in acknowledgement.

"How did you beat Yagyuu anyway?" Bunta asked, and Echizen wrote more on his paper. Bunta just watched patiently.

_I used a technique he couldn't counter_, the paper read, and Bunta smiled excitedly.

"Oh?" he asked with a carefree smile, "Yagyuu couldn't beat it? You must be really good, Echizen" he stated, and Echizen just nodded in response, his face still perfectly passive, but Bunta didn't mind.

"How do you think the tennis club will react?" Bunta asked, and Echizen smirked ever so softly, in what Bunta could see was anticipation, as he wrote more on his piece of paper.

_Sanada will go crazy, and the rest of the tennis club will probably accuse me of cheating_, the paper read, and Bunta chuckled.

"Sanada would do that" he agreed with a smirk. Echizen nodded in agreement before he stood up with his plate, producing his wallet in his hand, and Bunta stood up.

"You don't have to pay Echizen" Bunta offered, "I can buy you a slice of cake if you want". Echizen paused and looked at him for a moment, and then he nodded. Bunta smirked; of course he wouldn't turn down free cake. Who would?

Bunta moved to the counter, buying a slice of cake for himself and Echizen from the lunch lady, taking the two plates and carrying them back to the table, placing one plate in front of Echizen and placed the other at his own seat, sitting down at his chair and picking up his fork, taking a bite out of the cake.

_Wow…_ he thought, as his eyes practically lit up with stars at how good the cake tasted. He needed to get more. Bunta noticed with a rather amused smirk at how Echizen had similar metaphorical stars in his eye as he took a bite out of the cake. Echizen then stopped and looked at Bunta before picking up his pen and paper and writing more on it, holding it up to Bunta.

_Thank you for the cake_, the paper said, and Bunta smiled care freely.

"Don't worry about it" Bunta replied, "Besides, I paid with the money I borrowed from Jackal". Echizen gave a sort of half-smirk in amusement, and Bunta chuckled to himself as he took another bite out of the cake, and for a long period of time the two shared a comfortable silence together as they ate their cake slices.

Bunta glanced at Echizen whilst he was eating his cake and smiled. Yeah, having Echizen on the team would be a nice addition. He was so much quieter and mysterious, in a cool kind of way, and Bunta was suddenly looking forward to playing against Echizen during regulars practice.

"Echizen" he said suddenly, and Echizen looked up from his cake, "I can't wait to play you in practice" he stated with a wide genuine smile of excitement, and Echizen half-smiled in response. He wrote some more on the paper, and then held it up for Bunta to read.

_I look forward to playing for Rikkaidai_, the paper read, and Bunta smiled widely.

"In that case welcome to the Rikkaidai Fuzoku Regulars" he said with a wide smile and Echizen half-smiled and nodded his head in acknowledgement. Bunta noticed that both their plates were empty, and he stood up.

"We should get back to practice" he said, and Echizen nodded, standing up and following Bunta out the door.


	3. C is for Choutarou

Choutarou sighed to himself as he walked alone through the footpaths of the Tokyo Tennis Gardens, deeply in thought. He had just finished his game with Shishido-senpai against Inui and Kaidoh of Seigaku, and although they won Choutarou felt no satisfaction. This wasn't the Districts anymore, this was the first match of the Regionals, and the fact that he struggled so much to control his Scud Serve, costing them precious points bothered him. If it wasn't for Shishido-senpai's resilience they would have lost and Choutarou could not think of disappointing his captain, he had come too far with his team to do such a thing.

It was all because of his failure to control the Scud Serve that they had almost lost, and Choutarou was irritated by it. Inui of Seigaku had seen that habit and used it against him, whilst Choutarou never even realised it until Atobe explained it to him after the match, and suddenly he felt like an idiot. How had he not seen that before? How could Choutarou not realise the big weakness of his own technique? _'The Scud Serve is the fastest serve in the Tournament'_, Atobe had proclaimed many times, but Choutarou felt like the praise was false. He couldn't even twist his wrist right when he hit the ball, and so he deserved none of the praise he received.

Choutarou frowned. He had plenty of time before the Singles 3 matches began, and so he had some more time to mull over his thoughts. Kabaji would likely be getting ready for the match, as would the rest of the players here who played in Singles 3. Atobe would probably stand around looking regal as usual and not bother to prepare for his match, and Jirou… he could be anywhere, though he was very likely asleep.

Choutarou spotted the vending machine he was looking for and walked up to it, smiling ever so softly in anticipation at the thought of getting something to drink after his tiring match. He stepped in front of the machine, producing his wallet from the pocket of his regulars' trousers and taking a coin, placing it in the machine and selecting a bottle of lemonade. The bottle fell down the machine with a metallic clunk, and Choutarou took the bottle gladly. He quickly noticed a park bench next to the machine, and he sat down, leaning heavily against the bench and sighing loudly.

"Shishido-senpai is probably looking for me" he thought out loud, staring up at the clouds in quiet contemplation.

Choutarou stopped as he heard the familiar sound of a racket hitting a tennis ball, and he sat up, scanning the area around him before he noticed the half-court behind the bench, and a small kid in a black and yellow jersey rallying against a wall. Choutarou frowned. He must be a regular from one of the other teams playing today, since every team playing in the Kantou Tournament was playing at the same time. Choutarou didn't recognize the jersey, but this was his first year as a regular so he didn't really know many teams playing in the tournament.

"He kind of reminds me of my first year at Hyotei" Choutarou unconsciously muttered, watching the boy as he continually rallied the ball. His steps were rather quick and well-practiced, and Choutarou could tell he had complete control of the ball. He would make a good regular for his team, and Choutarou for some reason felt nostalgic watching this freshman rally a ball.

It reminded him of when he joined the tennis club. He had joined the tennis club because of the inspiration he received from watching Shishido-senpai play for the first time, his movements sharp and practiced, and for some reason Choutarou decided that he would become a regular no matter what. It wasn't so much a conscious decision, but watching Shishido-senpai play somehow flicked a switch in his brain, and suddenly his time was devoted to tennis. Or it would be, if he wasn't part of the Hyotei Music Club as well, and Sakaki-sensei made sure Choutarou's skills were at the best in both, since he was the tennis coach and the music teacher. Choutarou loved playing the piano more than a lot of things, in fact he'd say he loved it just as much as he loved tennis, and so he balanced both hand-in-hand and became the best tennis player and musician he could. Choutarou half-heartedly opened his bottle of soda and took a sip of it as he watched the freshman rally the ball.

"Echizen!" came a loud voice, and Choutarou looked up in surprise, noticing a taller guy in a similar jersey standing nearby, folding his arms and staring the freshman down. He had a rather sculpted jaw, sharp, strong features, deep brown eyes and only strands of black hair visible because of the black cap he wore on his head, and Choutarou was immediately reminded of Shishido-senpai because of it. The freshman stopping rallying immediately, snatching the ball out of mid-air with his left hand and turning to the guy quickly, and Choutarou blinked at how fast he reacted.

"Your match will be starting soon" the taller guy declared, "We're heading back". The freshman nodded without hesitation or a word spoken, and the taller guy lead the freshman away from the courts. Choutarou just watched their backs as they walked away inquisitively.

"Oi, Choutarou!" came a familiar voice, and Choutarou turned his back to see Shishido-senpai jogging towards him, stopping right in front of him and scowling.

"Where have you been?" he demanded, "I've been looking all over for you"

"I've been here the whole time, Shishido-senpai" Choutarou replied calmly, and Shishido-senpai simply scowled deeper in response.

"What were you doing here, then?" he asked in annoyance, and Choutarou turned and pointed to the back of the freshman and his taller teammate as they walked away.

"I was watching that freshman, Shishido-senpai, he reminded me of when I joined the tennis club" he said honestly, and Shishido-senpai looked up to where Choutarou was pointing and his eyes widened, and he let out a small gasp, and Choutarou turned to him concerned.

"What's wrong, Shishido-senpai?" he asked quickly.

"Choutarou" Shishido-senpai replied, not even looking at him, but staring wide-eyed at the two, "Don't you know who they are?". Choutarou frowned at his question.

"No" he replied simply, and Shishido-senpai turned to him incredulously.

"They're Rikkaidai Fuzoku, the three-time National Champions!" he exclaimed, and Choutarou's eyes widened in shock. The three-time National Champions?

"The tall guy is Sanada Genichiro" Shishido-senpai said, pointing to the taller of the two, and Choutarou turned back to them, watching as the two disappeared around the corner, but not before he got a glimpse of him.

"He's known as 'The Emperor', and is the vice-captain, probably the strongest player in the Japanese Middle School Tennis world" he explained, and Choutarou turned back to him incredulously. He'd been watching the strongest player in the tournament? But then he frowned.

"What about that freshman, Shishido-senpai?" Choutarou asked curiously, and Shishido-senpai frowned.

"I have no idea" he said flatly, "He's probably a new recruit, but he must be good to be a regular". Choutarou frowned deeper but nodded, and Shishido-senpai gestured for him to follow.

"We need to get back" he said bluntly, and Choutarou just nodded obediently and followed.

It wasn't until he was back and Kabaji was shaking hands with Kawamura of Seigaku did Choutarou realise that Sanada of Rikkaidai had called that freshman 'Echizen'.


End file.
